Lecco City: The Battle Against Drug Dealing

Lecco, 11 ottobre 2023 – “I come from Lecco city where they steal your bike.” And where drug dealing happens everywhere, even in front of churches and even to children. The Mobile agents of Lecco have carried out a major anti-drug raid.
They have arrested a total of 10 drug dealers, while two others managed to escape, one possibly to France. The code name of the operation, coordinated by the magistrates of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lecco, is “Lecco city”. The drug dealing area in a police video.
Lecco city
It is the title of a song by Baby Gang, also known as Zaccaria Mouhib, the 22-year-old trapper who has become the emblem of the nightlife and youth delinquency, although this time it has nothing to do with it. The drug dealers of the forbidden high were located by the Anti-Drug police in Lecco city, in the center, near the station, shopping centers, outside schools, around the Polytechnic campus, on the church squares. Their customers were high school students, university students, adults, Italians and foreigners.
The drugs
During the investigations, the investigators found at least 7,000 transactions involving doses of cocaine, mainly, heroin, hashish, and marijuana. A turnover of at least 300,000 euros between 2019 and the just-concluded summer was documented, including during the lockdown. This is an estimated figure of earnings, but certainly underestimated, because it only takes into account what has been possible to ascertain and prove.
The hiding places
The drug dealers never carried much stuff on them. They hid it in what are called “hiding places” in jargon: flower beds, pots, manholes, the gardens of the walls, and other places. In case of checks, they appeared clean and could not be arrested. They recovered it when necessary, for retail sale, depending on the orders received by phone or chat.
The arrested
They are all foreigners from North Africa. Their countries of origin are Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia. They are between 20 and 31 years old. Many are without a residence permit. Three were arrested in the act during the investigations, another 7 on arrest warrants, while another two against whom a custody order was signed are currently untraceable.
The investigations
The investigations lasted a few months, between May and June. However, they allowed for investigations into the past as well. They were not simple, because in an urban context, it is more difficult for investigators to blend in for surveillance and stakeouts. Hidden infrared cameras were used and telephone records were analyzed to reconstruct the network of contacts and customers.
The chief prosecutor
“To think of eradicating the drug dealing phenomenon is an illusion, we must be realistic,” explains the chief prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lecco, Ezio Domenico Basso. “However, we are countering it in synergy with judicial police operators, the Prosecutor’s Office, and law enforcement agencies. Other episodes of micro-criminality also develop around drug dealing.”
The police chief
“In addition to identifying drug dealers, we have eliminated possible sources of supply and intervened in situations that involve other collateral offenses,” adds the police chief of Lecco, Ottavio Aragona. “Drug trafficking is unfortunately a very widespread criminal phenomenon because there is a very high demand. It is not surprising that often the suspension of a driver’s license during checks is due not only to alcohol but also to the use of drugs.”
The Mobile commander
“The activity has involved all the main areas of the city center, which we monitor daily and from where we also receive numerous reports,” explains the head of the Mobile Squad, Gianluca Gentiluomo. “Among the arrested, we have also identified the two whom we believe to be the leaders, who procured the drugs to supply the other dealers who then sold them at retail.”